Do you find that the jobs that you want are constantly eluding you? Do you feel that you have all what it takes but somehow nothing happens after that first interview? The truth is that you might be entirely capable of the job, but if you are not well-prepared for a killer interview, you might as well not have the qualifications at all! There are plenty of people who get passed over for the jobs that they deserve simply because they do not interview well.

The first thing that you need to consider when you are looking at giving an amazing interview is research. Besides knowing your stuff, it is important to know about the company in detail. Take time to understand their domain, their challenges, strengths, growth patterns over the past couple of years and so on. It means a lot to the interviewer if they don’t have to spend time taking you through an overview of their business. And if you’re able to come up with a suggestion on what you can bring to the table and how you can help with their challenges, it will go a long way.

Do you trust someone with shifty eyes? Always remember to take a moment and make eye contact with your interviewer(s) as soon as you step into the room. Do not ignore anyone when you are looking at getting a panel interview. Make sure that everyone has copies of your resume and let them know that there are more available. A confident (not cheeky!) smile and a willingness to say hello gives the impression that you’re not nervous and believe in you.

Be confident and sure about your abilities, but don’t forget to be respectful of your interviewers. They have achieved a lot in their professional lives and might hold very senior positions in the organization. You may know more about the latest tech trends, but they have deep business experience. Respect them and don’t get into arguments.

Memorize the names of the people interviewing you and their job roles (remember to ask who they are when offered an interview) to help you remember who they are during the interview. Also make sure that you know your CV/resume and a description of the post you’re interviewing for really well. Make a list of expected questions and your answers to them, as well as questions you could ask. Intelligent questions never fail to impress the interviewer.

Practice your answers to questions aloud and rehearse the interview with a friend. Ask your friends to check for any pet phrases (such as "you know", "actually", "I mean"…) or annoying habits (playing with your hair, fiddling with a pen, shaking your leg and so on). Practice without these habits and pet phrases.

Different people belong to different cultures and religions. Regardless of the interviewer’s opinions, never pass comments that either praise or belittle any community, culture or religion. You will come out as someone who is intolerant and incapable of working in environments of mixed cultures. Similarly, it’s important to respect the values of the organization and culture you are applying to work within. All of this is important to research and understand prior to an interview.

Remember to look at the dress code that the company puts out. Dressing smartly is important, and you should remember to look polished and professional. Take some time to dress and make a good impression. Below are the basics of appropriate professional dress for a job interview:

Men

Regular formal shirts, preferably in solids (no stripes or checks)

Coordinated and sober/conservative colors

Ties in India are not a practice

Belt should be the same color as your shoes. If wearing black or navy blue trousers, wear a black belt, black shoes, and black or navy blue socks

A watch and/or one ring can be appropriate

Formal shoes should be polished and in good condition

Ensure that your clothes fit you well

Undergarments should not be visible

Clothing should not be transparent or form fitting

Women

Formal shirt or blouse with formal trousers/slacks

Indian formal wear (salwar kameez/sarees) is fine but should be sober

If you are wearing a skirt it should be knee-length or longer

Jewelry should be minimal and subtle

Neckline should be conservative and not low

Shoes should be a dark color (black, brown, navy), closed-toe, with a low or flat heel

Undergarments should not be visible

Clothing should not be transparent, nor form fitting

Handbags should be well-kept, moderate in size, neat in appearance

In case of a telephonic interview, you have the advantage of not being seen. On the flipside, you can use only your voice to make an impression. Give the most appropriate contact number which may or may not be your mobile number. Make sure you are in the right environment during the interview. Take the call in a quiet room with no ­distractions. Don’t smoke, eat or chew gum while being interviewed. Don’t fit in the interview call in a packed schedule. You can’t cut short the call if you have another appointment. In a call, it can be tempting to talk about what you want to talk about, rather than what the interviewer has asked. Keep your answers concise, relevant and informative. Don’t feel the need to go into every tiny detail. Smiling during the interview helps keep your tone friendly.

Quick Tips

Be on time.

Make sure you have the HR/recruitment team member’s contact number handy.

Carry extra copies of your CV/resume.

Give a firm handshake.

Be enthusiastic about yourself, the job and the company.

Be positive and confident. Remember you are selling yourself.

Be honest.

Speak slowly and clearly, and project your voice.

Take time to think about an answer before giving it. Use phrases such as 'that's an interesting question' to buy some time

Never say anything negative about previous employers.

Make eye contact.

Control your body language.

Follow-up afterwards to check on the status. Solicit feedback in case you don’t get the job.

Your résumé is the Master key that leads to a new job; it's usually a means of introduction between you and a hiring manager, and it has to both tease and interest him or her to want to learn more while providing enough details to convince him or her that you're qualified for the position. Here are some alphabetical tips.

A is for ... Ax the objective.

We've said it again and again -- objectives are so 1990. The big issue -- besides that they state the obvious (you're seeking work) -- is they outline what you want and need. At this stage, an employer is more concerned with how well you match what he or she wants and needs.

B is for ... Beware the buzzwords.

These phrases are empty calories on a résumé -- not only are they overused, but they usually don't describe anything about you that a hiring manager could verify. Avoid canned descriptors such as "team player," "hardworking" or "detail oriented," and instead let your credentials and accomplishments illustrate how you're qualified.

C is for ... Customize.

No two employers should receive the same résumé from you. You can work from a skeleton template for each position you apply for, but besides that, you should tweak your document each time you submit, to accentuate the accomplishments and qualifications you have that best match the employer's needs.

D is for ... Decide on a format.

There are three popular formats: The most common is chronological, organized by jobs that you list from most recent to oldest. Functional résumés are good for those with less experience because they allow you to group accomplishments and experiences by your relevant skills. Combination résumés blend the best elements of the first two, allowing you to associate your skills with the jobs you've held in the order you worked in them.

E is for ... Email-proof your document.

The résumé was perfection on your computer, but the version the employer received features funky spacing and weird-looking text. This is all too common, so do a dry run -- send a copy to a friend or to a different email account of your own. Preview how it reads when pasted into the body of an email. Also send a PDF copy that retains its formatting when attached.

F is for ... Follow instructions.

You're being tested at every step of the hiring process, including how well you read and follow application instructions from the job listing. Do not attach the résumé to an email if you're supposed to submit your file to an applicant tracking system. Do not include your references if they weren't requested yet.

G is for ... Grab the reader.

Make sure you're emphasizing the right information in your text. In 2012, job search service TheLadders released a survey that determined recruiters spend only six seconds reviewing a résumé. In that time, most gaze over an applicant's name, current title, company, start and end dates; the applicant's previous title, company, start and end dates; and the applicant's education. Recruiters then scan for keywords that match those from the job listing.

H is for ... Hold on to all versions of submitted résumés.

Develop a naming and filing convention so you can track each customized résumé you send. When saving the digital files, use the name of the position, the employer and the date of submission -- "SalesManagerMacys042514" -- because the more detail you include, the easier it'll be to refer back to the document.

I is for ... Infographic résumés. They aren't worth the hype.

Infographics catch the eye, but they're not always appropriate. If you work in a visual field, there's a bonus to choosing this format and doing it well, but if you're ... a tax attorney, there's not as much benefit. If you do use one, you should have experience in design or be willing to pay a professional designer to do the work. You also need to have a plain Jane text form to use in a pinch.

J is for ... Jargon and schmaltz aren't needed.

Your résumé should read well regardless of whether it lands on the desk of a human resources professional, a recruiter or the person who will be your direct supervisor, so don't include SAT words or industry-speak to make a positive impression. The best way to come off as intelligent and knowledgeable of your industry is to use plain language.

K is for ... KISS (aka Keep It Simple, Silly).

Hiring managers read résumés hoping to find the right qualifications, and if a newfangled fad -- whether it's font, color, icons, pictures, QR codes or anything else -- detracts from finding those qualifications, it's a waste of time. It's OK to ace one of the go-to résumé formats.

L is for ... Leave your hobbies off.

Save this stuff for cocktail chatter. The only exception to this is if you're applying for a position that's related to your interest in archery or if you know for sure the person receiving your document has a love for paddleboarding that rivals your own.

M is for ... Mind the gaps.

Employers only see employment gaps as negative when they're not explained, because it raises questions and concerns as to what you're withholding. Either highlight the volunteer work you did while unemployed -- which means you need to volunteer while you're unemployed -- or use a functional résumé format to de-emphasize the time lapse.

N is for ... Never submit on a Saturday.

The weekend is for revising your résumé, not submitting it. Bright.com (which was recently acquired by LinkedIn) conducted a survey in 2013 that found 5 percent of job seekers surveyed submit on weekends, but only 14 percent of those who did moved forward in the hiring process. Monday is the best day to press the send button; 30 percent of those who submitted that day progressed on.

O is for ... One to two pages only.

Two pages are all right if you have the relevant experience to support that length. For those early in their careers, a one-page document will do. Even those who are more advanced might only have enough to fill a sole page of text.

P is for ... Proofread your work.

And then proofread it again. Ask a friend to look it over, then proofread it yourself once more. Then, each time you submit your résumé, read it a final time before pressing the send button. A hiring manager might not rule you out for misspellings, but do you really want to run the risk?

Q is for ... Quarter your content.

Your template needs at least four sections: Qualifications, Education, Experience and Contact Information. But don't consider that your limit. Many hiring managers now look for a skills section, and you could also include information on volunteer work, professional development, publications and awards.

R is for ... Remember the Golden Rule of job searching.

You absolutely cannot fudge your skills at any stage of the hiring process, including on your résumé. If you're hired and then found out to have embellished, an employer could use it as grounds for firing you.

S is for ... Stick to the STAR.

Hiring managers are looking to see how your skills produce results. An effective way to illustrate that is to describe your experiences using the STAR acronym: explaining Situations, Tasks, Actions and Results. Thinking of your work this way is also a good storytelling method on interviews.

T is for ... Trim the fat.

You're probably packing in information you don't need, like the name of your high school (if you're older than age 20 or a college graduate, strike this), irrelevant work and job duties (part-time waitressing and baby-sitting should only be included when applicable) or subjective descriptions (you have "great leadership skills," but according to whom?).

U is for ... Update regularly.

Add accomplishments and important career milestones to your template as they occur. That way you won't forget to sell your qualifications and skills based on your best work.

V is for ... Video résumés aren't interchangeable with a text document.

Choosing to explain your qualifications using video is tricky, and the best practices for them mirror those for using an infographic: 1) It's a good idea when done by professionals in related fields; so in other words, if you've had media training and are pursuing a job in media. 2) A video cannot replace a traditionally formatted résumé, which you'll still need for most jobs.

W is for ... Write around pronouns.

Save the I's and me's for your cover letter. It's implied that you're the subject of every sentence or bullet point of a résumé. Shorthand, telegraph-style statements are the norm. For example: "Grew revenue from $45K to $200K in two years."

X is for ... Xerox is your buddy.

This is where having a detailed filing and naming convention will work in your favor -- go back and see the slide for H -- because you should carry extra copies of the appropriate résumé to interviews, job fairs and business meetings.

Y is for ...You should use keywords wisely.

Keywords hook an employer in to read your résumé closely, but you want to be careful that you're not stuffing your document with the appropriate text. Don't just list, "knowledge of Wrike" -- actually provide examples of how you've used the software as a project manager.

Z is for ... Zeal never hurts.

Successful job searches are about more than just submitting a résumé on the right day highlighting the right skills and using the right keywords. You also need to show your preparedness for the job during the interview stage, be a proper culture fit for the position and show a little enthusiasm. It takes effort and energy for your efforts to result in a job offer.

Resumes are your most precious professional real estate, so don’t waste valuable space on clichés and tired, old phrases that express nothing, other than the fact that you love vapid buzzwords. CareerBuilder recently asked more than 2,200 hiring managers and HR pros across the U.S. to name the worst resumes terms they see. Pull up your resume, for compare/contrast purposes, and read ahead.

Best of breed - It may include “best” but hiring managers say this is the worst term to use on your resume. Any description is better than “best-of-breed” technology/app/software what have you. How about “most-effective,” “most-efficient,” “top performing,” “quickest-ROI-returning”?

Go-getter - You certainly aren’t going to get a thesaurus if you use this clunker on your professional best-foot-forward. Think about it, isn’t this a given? What’s the alternative: “passive professional who enjoys waiting for opportunities to land in his lap”? This is one of those terms you need to demonstrate on your resume through your experience and what you have achieved (i.e., metrics). Show, don’t tell.

Think outside the box - This good-’ol management chestnut from the ’80s needs to be put in a box and buried in a deep hole, never again to see the light of day or grace a PowerPoint slide. Again, think about how you can demonstrate this quality without stating it outright.

Synergy - Unless you’re a one-man band, you’re expected to be able to work cooperatively with others to produce a desired outcome. Technically, this is something you learned in kindergarten, so unless you’re also adding your talents in using scissors and glue, delete this immediately. The same goes for any derivative: synergistic, synergize, synergism, etc.

Go-to person - This is one of those red-light terms, in that it’s a label others give you and not one you should give yourself. It’s akin to bragging about how humble you are. Like the earlier “go-getter,” concentrate on how you can substantiate this quality by showing results. If you’re dying to be tagged as the “go-to person” ask your references to ensure to mention it if called. Again, it sounds much more authentic coming from anyone but you.

Thought leadership - Do you have any idea what this means? We certainly don’t. It sounds like someone, sometime took two words they thought would look cool together and mashed them up into some weird buzzword. Is it mind control? Hypnotism? Regardless, avoid at all costs.

Value-add - An economic term that has been shamelessly latched onto pretty much anything under the sun. All anyone knows is that if you add it to a noun, it makes that noun sound better. It also makes you sound like a person who enjoys jamming his resume with outdated, superfluous keywords. There are countless ways to better describe how you made a process, technology, program or company better. Find them.

Results-driven - Another obvious term that is already assumed by a hiring manager. Would anyone state they were “results-indifferent”? Actually, someone might. Regardless, “results-driven” takes up valuable space you could use for other more-compelling adjectives or descriptions.

Team player - Much like the rightly maligned “synergy,” there are better ways of saying you play nice with others. Find them. If you insist on including the team theme, explain why working on a team makes you a more-efficient, productive employee.

Bottom-line - A horribly clichéd way of saying, “I care that my employer is profitable/successful.” Pretty much every employee does, therefore this is another space-waster. If you want to demonstrate how you impact a company’s success (financially, procedurally, etc.), show them, a la: “Trained and managed a team that rolled out a new messaging system ahead of schedule, which saved the company $75,000.”